Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office (PCSO) General Manager Melquiades A. Robles on Saturday talked about their office's medical transport vehicle and medical equipment donation program during DZRH's Executive Session.
According to Robles, the PCSO never stops providing ambulance services to local government units (LGUs) so that patients can be easily transferred to hospitals via the "patient transport vehicle."
"Traditionally, PCSO ang nagsu-supply ng patient transport vehicle... 'yan po ay binibigay natin sa lahat, mostly sa LGUs na mayroong ospital," he explained, emphasizing that the office regularly donates to LGUs.
Robles added that an LGU with hospitals may receive ambulance services because it is one of the major needs of their office.
Medical Transport Vehicle Donation Program
With PCSO's medical transport donation program, Robles stated that LGUs are the main recipient of the ambulances since they serve as the first responders when there are accidents in their area.
"Mostly LGU kasi sila ang may pangangailangan niyan...Kailangan nating mabigyan ng priority ang LGU," he pointed out.
Robles added that because there are district hospitals, Congress can also request an ambulance.
He also stated that their office has already received 600 requests and that they are currently purchasing 220 ambulances and 400 more in the coming months to assist local governments.
"Napakaganda ho ng ambulance kasi sa tingin ko yung presence talaga ng Office of the President, nagiging concrete yung pagtulong niya," he mentioned, elaborating how the President extends his help to the people through PCSO.
"Ang nararamdaman po talaga ay kalinga ng pangulo through us," he added, proving the importance of ambulance for the people to be aware of the service.
Medical Equipment Donation Program
Aside from ambulances, PCSO also advocates for a medical equipment donation program, which provides X-ray machines, anesthesia machines, and other life-saving equipment to those in need.
"Mayroon ho kaming checklist na avail sa website namin...Basta enough to let the hospital run yung basic service nila," he explained.
"Pati for their laboratory, makakapagbigay po tayo diyan," he added, saying that hospitals are the ones to ask for requests.
The same with the transportation vehicle donation program, there are guidelines for local governments to follow before receiving medical equipment.
Before providing basic medical equipment, Robles stated that LGUs must request a letter for equipment and another page for medicine requests.
